Dolores J. Carlson

Dolores J. Carlson, 84 year old resident of Little Falls, MN passed away Saturday, June 1, 2024 at Highland Senior Living in Little Falls, MN. A funeral service will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Friday, June 14, 2024 at the Shelley Funeral Chapel in Little Falls, MN with Rev. Keith Bergstrom officiating. Burial will take place in the Freedhem Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery in Freedhem, MN. A visitation will be held from 12-2:00 P.M. on Friday, June 14, 2024 at the Shelley Funeral Chapel in Little Falls, MN. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in memory of Dolores to The Morrison County Animal Humane Society. Caring for Dolores and her family is the Shelley Funeral Chapel in Little Falls, MN. Dolores was born on June 4, 1939, in Little Falls to the late Roy and Janet (Dahlgren) Carlson. The oldest of four, Dolores grew up on the family farm outside of Little Falls, attended the nearby country school, and graduated from high school in Little Falls in 1957. In 1959, she started her work as a secretary for the Little Falls high school in the old Central Office building. During her 50 years as one of the high school “office ladies”, she was the principal’s secretary in three different buildings and for each of the principals during that time. She worked with hundreds of teachers (and probably had to find a substitute teacher for every one of them at some point) and thousands of students - including her own sister and brothers, two nieces and a nephew, and she only chose to retire when her great-nephew graduated in 2009. Dolores supported Flyers athletics and was a big fan of Minnesota sports: the Gophers, Vikings, Timberwolves, and especially the Minnesota Twins – Marty Cordova, Joe Mauer, and Justin Morneau in particular. She tended a garden, made delicious bars, pies, fruit crisps, snack mix and frozen corn - always sharing her garden veggies and goodies. Dolores enjoyed classic country music, trips to the casino, scratch-offs, and spending time with her “birthday group” of friends and former coworkers. She loved nature, a nice drive on a country road, and feeding and watching the backyard birds - cardinals were her favorite. Dolores loved the family farm and was an immense help to her parents throughout their lives. She stayed on “The Farm” until 2015. Dolores loved all animals her entire life including horses (especially appaloosas), lambs, dogs, and cats. A bottle-fed lamb was not an uncommon sight in the farmhouse kitchen or even the high school office. Barn cats were always fed and watered, and many stray cats found their way inside to a new life as a house cat. While she was on the farm, Dolores was never without a dog by her side, including the most recent - her beloved lab, Abby. Dolores is survived by her brothers, Doug (Cindy) Carlson of Harris, MN, Loren (Barb) Carlson of Little Falls; niece Anne Urbanski of El Paso, TX and great-nephew, Michael (Erin) Urbanski and their son, Mason of Jacksonville, NC; niece, Stacy (Eric) Frayseth, great-niece, Holly Frayseth and great-nephew, Adam Frayseth of Cokato, MN; nephew, Mark Carlson of Minneapolis; brother-in-law, David Gasparac of Robbinsdale, MN; nephew, David Gasparac Jr. of Robbinsdale; great-niece, Emily Gasparac, and great-nephew, Jack Gasparac; nephew, Craig Gasparac of Minneapolis; cousins, many friends, neighbors and former coworkers; and the last of Dolores’ rescued stray cats, Lily (also of Cokato). Dolores was preceded in death by her parents, Roy and Janet and her sister, Karen. The family wishes to thank the St Croix Hospice team and the nurses and aides at Highland for their compassionate care of Dolores.

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Dolores J. Carlson

June 4, 1939 - June 1, 2024